Moore: Questions remain about proposed sales tax, sports complex

To the editor:

I have seen signs up in and around Rockingham for a new tax. The signs say that this will bring growth and employment to the county.

letter_logoOne, for how long is this tax for and is this for the whole county or just for Rockingham?

Two, if this is for the whole county, will they build a park in all the towns in the county or just in Rockingham for the people in this town?

Three, if it is just for Rockingham and not for the whole county, should not the city of Rockingham pay for it themselves as they are the ones that have already started this park and now don’t know what to do with the land?

Four, if this is theirs, though, then maybe we need to look for new people on the city council.

James M. Moore
Rockingham

Filed in: Latest Headlines

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  • Patricia Davis

    With the many questions surrounding this proposed tax and structure/park, I would like to see an actual plan that projects how the structure/park will look once it is complete. The tax increase is another “cart before the horse” without substantial proof of the final results.

  • http://peedeepost.com Port Sanders

    What if we used the money from the tax to actually impact both the education of our students and increase economic expansion within the county? You ask, how could we do that? Here is the answer.

    Let us take that tax money that is going to be raised and use it towards scholarships for the top students at the high school on a strictly academic performance basis.

    Once they graduate with their four year degree they must move back to Richmond County to live and work for a least six years with the stipulation if they do not they must pay back the scholarship money. Call it the R.A.I.D.E.R. Scholarship Fund (Raising Academic Importance Deliberately Enticing Residency or some other political jargon acronym).

    You want economic growth, let us get the most intelligent, motivated and hardest working students in this county’s schools to come back here when they graduate and start a business, work and live in the county. This would increase grades at the high school, increase home values in the county, stop the brain drain of the best and brightest from leaving this county year after year and encourage a real entrepreneurial spirit.

    For example the cost of tuition/room & board @ UNCW is $13,800. At any given time if we truly raise $700,000 a year we could send on the R.A.I.D.E.R. Scholarship program 50 kids to college with the stipulation they must come back to Richmond County to either start a business/work and maintain residency for six years. If they violate that term of contract they must pay back the scholarship money.

    How is that for an economic plan/education plan? And I thought of that in about 10 minutes.

    These sports obsessed parents are living in a fantasy world. The world needs less kids with sports skills and more kids with business skills/life/academic/reading/math skills.

    (Sarcasm Alert!!! Warning )

    The following came from the same group who thought of the sports complex (This group need not worry itself with mundane subjects in Richmond County such as: among adults without a diploma, the illiteracy rate is 25%. No do not look at that! Let us focus instead on the more important: runs batted in percentage during weekend tourneys among 10 year olds!)

    Hey why don’t we just raise the taxes high enough where everyone gets a free 2015 Tahoe with the leather package and four wheel drive? Or we could raise taxes high enough where everyone gets $250,000 a year in income. I think that will work. Or wait, does raising taxes have a negative economic impact? Never mind give me that Tahoe Tax.

  • http://yahoo anonymous-right editor?

    Thank you James Moore-excellent questions. I don’t expect you will get an answer from anyone on the council. It’s a blank check-and the city will choose the good ole contractors they always do(are the bids public record?). the city paid 750,000 for 118 acres? Seems a bit high for small timber, little road frontage, a lot of wet or flooded areas and a huge overhead powerline?This tax will also never be repealed-can anyone recall that ever happening??? As someone pointed out-the signs. Vote jobs and growth on one side and parks and rec on the other-a lot of optimism for a 30 million dollar investment. Right now the city has a 118 acre tract of liability-the kids from Philidelphia and Roberdell are riding illegal(too big) four wheelers with out helmets as if the land were designated for that. Also a dangerous pond is located there. I hope the city will do something about this before another person dies on a four wheeler. It is not if, but when one of these children has an accident.

  • Barbara Mozingo

    We just had a child who was harmed by children on a school bus…I vote that any tax monies raised in the county first be allotted for a simple basic requirement for children to learn…that they feel safe.

  • http://aol Jimmy

    Is Rockingham going to address the valid questions of the voters?

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